Bread Machines For Dummies (40 page)
Read Bread Machines For Dummies Online
Authors: Glenna Vance,Tom Lacalamita
Betty's Quick Breads
In This Chapter
Making your own quick bread mix
Using the mix to create wonderful breads
Betty's Base Bread Mix
Apple Date Bread
Carrot Raisin Bread
Cranberry Orange Bread
Chocolate Chunk Bread
Corn Bacon Bread
Fall Treasures Bread
Oatmeal Walnut Bread
Multi-Grain Bread
Pumpkin Raisin Bread
B
etty McLaughlin prepared these recipes â originally for school food-service programs. Fortunately for us, Betty not only has a formula for mixing 25 pounds of the base mix, but she also has a recipe for the 1-pound size. Just a bit of tweaking and voilà â a quick-bread mix that's perfect for bread machines.
Using a mix saves you time. Instead of getting all the various ingredients out, measuring them, and then cleaning up all your measuring cups and spoons, you only have to measure the appropriate amount of the mix, add your other ingredients, and you're done. Of course, you do have to take some time, initially, to create the basic mix.
This recipe is the basis for all the other recipes in this chapter. It includes each of the basic elements found in a good loaf of bread-machine bread (except the liquid). We give you some suggestions for how to use the mix in the other recipes in the chapter, but we also encourage you to experiment.
Preparation time:
20 minutes
Approximate cycle time:
1 1/2 hours
Yield:
3 quick breads
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup dry milk
1/4 cup baking powder
3 teaspoons baking soda
1 Thoroughly blend all the ingredients in a large bowl with a wire whisk or place in a large, self-sealing plastic bag and rotate the bag to mix the ingredients together.
2 Store in an airtight container or large, self-sealing plastic bag. Use within three months.
Here's how you use the base bread mix for the rest of the recipes in this chapter:
1 Place the wet ingredients for the specific recipe in the bread machine pan.
2 Add the prepared mix and the other dry ingredients, such as dried fruit, chocolate pieces, or nuts, to the pan and place the pan in the bread machine.
3 Select the Quick or Cake setting and start the machine.
4 Do not close the lid during the start of the mixing time. Instead, help the ingredients mix together by using a rubber spatula. Be certain that all the dry ingredients become moist.
5 When the cycle is complete, test the bread to be sure it's done. Some people trust a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, the loaf is done. A more accurate method is to use an instant-read thermometer. Bread is thoroughly baked when a thermometer inserted into the middle of the loaf reads 190° to 200°.
6 If the bread is not completely baked and your machine has a Bake setting, select Bake and continue to bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes. If your machine does not have a Bake setting, you can complete the baking in your oven at 400°. Do not worry about preheating. Turn the oven on and immediately put in the pan containing the bread.
7 When the bread is completely baked, let it sit in the pan for ten minutes. During this time, the structure of the dough will settle, so that when you do take the bread out of the pan it won't fall apart. Also, bread slides out of the pan much easier after it's cooled for ten minutes. Finish cooling on a rack.
If your machine doesn't have a Quick or Cake setting, but does have a Dough and a Bake setting, you can still make quick breads. Mix the ingredients for three to five minutes on the Dough setting. When the dry ingredients are completely moistened, hold Stop until the digital display reads 0:00. Then select the Bake setting and start the machine.